Title: The Lightning Strike
Fandom: Marvel (movie 'verse)
Author: Batsutousai
Betas: Runic, SharaLunison, Nimohtar
Rating: Mature
Pairings: Loki/Tony Stark, Phil Coulson/Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, Thor/Jane Foster
Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega trope (to an extent), actual wolf pack dynamics, intersexual Jötnar, sexism, suggestion of previous dub-/non-con, mating, hurt/comfort, Loki just needs some love, Bruce really wants to go Hulk on Odin, Tony is confused about everything (but not as much as Steve), Clint is an absolute ass (& drags Natasha and Phil along for the ride), Pepper is kinda a BAMF
Summary: Pack dynamics are confusing enough for the Avengers without adding the complete mess that Thor and Loki grew up with, but they aren't given much choice when Loki goes into heat in the middle of a battle and Tony's alpha instincts tell him he has to take care of his pack, enemy or no.
Disclaim Her: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Marvel. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Whereupon Bats decides she wants to try her hand at the Alpha/Beta/Omega trope.
I did some research on actual wolves for this, which involved some tears, because the reality of wolf packs is nothing like the trope. (Whoops.)
SO! Fair warning, the human faction tends not to be anything like the trope, but the Æsir and Jötnar are, in a slightly complicated way that only ends poorly for Loki. *shifty*
Title comes from Snow Patrol's song of the same name. (The three-part, sixteen minute version, not the single.) I realised, while struggling for a title, that the three movements followed with the movements of this fic, and the 'chapter' titles follow that.
Super awesome gigantic props and adoration to Runic, who let me bounce ideas off her and helped me spot a couple of stupids before they ended up on the screen. (She's also the one who talked me into using this for the FrostIron Bang on tumblr and kept me going when scenes got stuck.)
Additional shout-outs to SharaLunison and Nimohtar, my lovely long-time betas, who gave this insanity a couple more glances before any of my 'I haven't slept in over twenty hours' errors could get me into trouble.
Final shout-out to my artist, wnnb_darklord, who put together an awesome playlist for this fic, which includes the title songs speckled throughout, and a gifset for a scene in the first movement. The playlist can be found on this tumblr post, the link to the gifset is within the text, or in the A/N at the end of this chapter.
( Movement I – What If This Storm Ends?, Part 1 of 2 )
The Lightning Strike ~ ChaptersMovement I ~ What If This Storm Ends | Movement II ~ The Sunlight Through the Flags | Movement III ~ Daylight
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